Page 78 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Sep-Oct 2019

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QLD – NEW
PAINT&PANEL SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019 WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
HOLMES PANEL & PAINT
HOLMES PAINT & PANEL HAS A NEW LEASE OF LIFE SINCE IT HAS RELOCATED FROM IT’S FORMER SERIES OF ‘STABLES’ TO A SPACIOUS WORKSHOP WHERE KEY TO KEY TIMES AND PRODUCTION ARE ON THE UPWARD CURVE.
OLMES PANEL AND PAINT IS
another second genera-
tion outfit. Matt Bryan is now running the business ith his wife Kate. They
took the plunge to move from to this new facility in August last year to set them up for the next 20 years. The business was originally set up in 1981 in Ipswich, the new shop is opposite the Ipswich Hockey Club. Holmes sponsors the club and has already picked up some new custom- ers through this initiative.
Moving from the old ‘stable’ like environment with its series of sheds to an open production-friendly modern shop with a new Lowbake paint room has had a predictably beneficial effect on both key to key times and volume. Cars are being repaired around 1.5 days more quickly and volume has increased by 10-15 per- cent. The new workshop is spacious and laid out to ensure a smooth pro- duction flow, the concrete walls make
it a little dark and painting them is on the cards once the financial pain of the move eases.
Holmes is approved for both IAG and Youi but has also picked up new customers from businesses nearby. There’s a good website, a regularly curated Facebook page and they are on Instagram too, plus we like their professional hold message detailing their services.
The move hasn’t been without its headaches, there was a lot of downtime and the new team approach to the re- pair process meant the need for some staff adjustments. There’s always a learning curve to make the most of a new space but the team are settling in nicely now.
The Bryans now have their sites set on becoming and I-CAR Gold facility and applying to be an OEM approved repairer. Matt is on the board of Car Craft Queensland and the couple are involved in a number of community initiatives.
SHOP STATS
POWELL’S POINTS
Matt says what he loves about the in- dustry is that no two days are the same and that there’s always a new challenge to attack. Investing in and setting up a new shop is definitely a challenge and we say well played for setting up the business for the future.
w
SIZE: 1450m2
STAFF: 16
TYPE OF REPAIRS: All types AVG CARS REPAIRED PW: 35-40
AVG KEY TO KEY: 7 days combined drive/ non drive
This big workshop has the
potential to efficiently turn
over a large volume of work
while still maintaining the quality necessary to meet industry standards. This is a credit to the Bryan family.
ABOVE: Building for the future, Holmes Panel and Paint is well set up for the next 20 years in the new shop.